An American university is going all in on training UX professionals
The tech market keeps growing, and along with it, the demand for professionals who master design skills focused on user experience. That is the backdrop for the University of Minnesota Twin Cities College of Design announcing something that has turned quite a few heads: the launch of the first bachelor’s degree in User Experience Design in the entire state of Minnesota, with classes already underway this fall semester. The move puts the institution in a standout position within American higher education and directly addresses a need the industry has been signaling for years.
The timing of this launch is no coincidence. Minnesota is the state with the highest per capita concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the United States. That means there is a very unique ecosystem there, where large corporations across different sectors coexist in the same geographic region and compete for qualified talent in technology and design. Having a major university offering a UX degree in that context creates a natural bridge between the classroom and the job market — something few institutions in the world can offer with that kind of consistency.
According to McLean Donnelly, a professor and the program coordinator, this is possibly only the second UX-focused degree among the 18 universities that make up the Big Ten conference, one of the most traditional academic and athletic associations in the United States. The difference, he says, lies precisely in the geographic advantage that Minnesota offers. With roughly 50 students already enrolled and alumni working at giants like Best Buy, Target, U.S. Bank, and Electronic Arts, the new program was born with a network of contacts and industry opportunities that many programs take decades to build.
What is UX Design and why does it matter so much
Before diving into the details of the program, it is worth understanding what exactly User Experience Design involves. In simple terms, UX Design is the discipline that studies and designs how people interact with digital products — websites, apps, smart technology, and any interface that requires some kind of human action. To do this, the field combines elements of psychology, behavioral research, technology, and visual design, always with the goal of creating experiences that are human-centered, functional, and accessible.
McLean Donnelly summed up the importance of this field pretty directly: behind every website, every app, and every digital product we use, there is someone who designed that experience. And when that work is not done well, the impact is immediate. If you pull up a website on your phone and it does not work right, does not load properly, or just confuses you more than it helps, how long are you going to stick around? Those seconds of frustration represent real money for companies. That is why companies in tech, healthcare, retail, and finance are investing more and more in qualified designers to improve their digital interactions.
UX roles are among the fastest-growing and highest-paying positions within the design and technology sectors. That is a relevant data point because it shows we are not talking about a passing trend, but a structural transformation in the way organizations think about their digital products and services.
Why a UX degree makes so much sense right now
If you follow the tech sector, you have probably noticed that User Experience Design has gone from being a nice-to-have to a fundamental requirement for any company building digital products. Apps, platforms, internal systems, connected devices — everything runs through user experience. And the more complex technologies become, the more essential the role of the people designing the interactions between humans and interfaces.
The problem is that, despite this growing demand, the market still faces a significant shortage of professionals with structured training in the field. A lot of people get into UX through alternative paths like bootcamps and standalone courses, which is perfectly valid, but the existence of a full bachelor’s degree adds a layer of theoretical and practical depth that makes a difference when it comes to solving more complex design problems.
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Part of the motivation for creating the bachelor’s degree came from the success of the UX minor that the College of Design already offered. Donnelly explained that students had been piecing together UX skills on their own, combining the minor with independent studies to try to put together a more complete education. Now, with four years dedicated to the subject, those students will have a real advantage on their resumes. And the numbers confirm that demand: alumni from the minor are already employed full-time at companies like U.S. Bank, Best Buy, Target, and Medtronic.
The University of Minnesota program was designed to cover everything from the fundamentals of user research to advanced prototyping, including information architecture, interface design, and product strategy. The idea is that students will not just graduate knowing how to use tools, but will understand the principles behind every design decision. That includes understanding how people process information, how they make decisions in front of a screen, and how different cultural and social contexts influence the way we interact with technology. This type of broader education is what separates a professional who executes tasks from someone who can lead projects and propose innovative solutions.
Another relevant point is that the program does not exist in isolation within the university. It is part of the College of Design, which already has a strong tradition in areas like architecture, graphic design, and urban planning. This allows UX students to interact with peers from other disciplines, participate in interdisciplinary projects, and develop a broader perspective on how design impacts different aspects of everyday life. This kind of cross-disciplinary integration is something the market increasingly values, especially at companies working with products and services that span the physical and digital worlds.
Real stories from people who already walked this path
One of the most effective ways to understand the impact of a UX education is to look at the journeys of people who have already been through it. Two alumni from the University of Minnesota illustrate well how user-centered design skills can open real doors in the job market.
Eliana Smelansky and the road to Best Buy
Eliana Smelansky graduated in 2022 with a marketing degree from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, complemented by a minor in interdisciplinary design offered by the College of Design. After an internship that led to a position at Target in a merchandising role, she realized she wanted something more creative. That is when she decided to complete a six-month UX/UI bootcamp at the University of Minnesota itself.
Today, Smelansky works as an Experience Designer at Best Buy. When she heard about the launch of the new UX bachelor’s degree, she made a point of sharing the news on LinkedIn, noting that she would have chosen that path if the option had existed when she was in school.
She points out that a large part of her current work involves collaboration, brainstorming concepts, and presenting to stakeholders and leadership. Having an education that brings all of these skills together in one package — like aligning stakeholder expectations, collaborating on problem-solving, and creating visually appealing designs — is something she considers extremely valuable.
Nick Horst and the dream of working in games
Nick Horst graduated in 2025 with a computer science degree from the University of Minnesota’s College of Science and Engineering, but he added a UX minor to his resume. It was that combination of technical and design skills that helped him land his dream job.
Horst says a class with McLean Donnelly opened his eyes to the intersection of technology and design, which is exactly where his work sits today. After graduating, he moved to Los Angeles to work at Respawn Entertainment, a studio owned by Electronic Arts, one of the biggest gaming companies in the world.
His team works on Apex Legends, a title with a global reach. For Horst, it was a special moment since he started playing the game back in high school. As a technical experience designer at Respawn, he explains that any new feature or visual element that appears on a player’s screen is something his team programs into the game.
For anyone working in video game development, apps, or any software that requires a user interface, UX is an extremely useful skill. Horst said that if he were a freshman today, he would have chosen the UX Design bachelor’s as his sole degree or, at the very least, would have seriously considered it as part of a double major.
The Minnesota ecosystem and industry opportunities
When people talk about tech hubs in the United States, most automatically think of Silicon Valley, Seattle, or Austin. Minnesota rarely shows up on those more popular lists, but the actual numbers tell a different story. The massive presence of Fortune 500 companies in the region creates a constant demand for professionals with design skills, especially in UX.
Here are some examples of sectors that hire heavily in this area in Minnesota:
- Retail: companies like Target and Best Buy invest heavily in digital design teams for their e-commerce platforms and apps.
- Healthcare: companies like Medtronic, a global leader in medical devices, need intuitive interfaces for healthcare professionals and patients.
- Financial services: institutions like U.S. Bank depend on well-designed digital experiences to serve millions of customers.
- Technology and entertainment: software and gaming companies look for professionals who understand how to create engaging and functional interactions.
This concentration of companies in a single state generates what experts call the ecosystem effect. In practice, that means students in the new UX degree at the University of Minnesota can do internships, participate in real-world projects, and build their network without having to move to another state. The geographic proximity between the university and the headquarters of these companies facilitates academic partnerships, mentorship from experienced professionals, and even job offers before graduation.
For anyone just starting their career, that kind of easy access to the market is a factor that can significantly accelerate professional development and open doors that, in other contexts, would take longer to appear.
On top of that, College of Design alumni who already work at these companies serve as an informal support network for new students. When someone already working at Electronic Arts or Target came from the same university, the connection happens more naturally and industry opportunities become more accessible. That kind of competitive advantage is hard to replicate and helps explain why the program attracted around 50 enrollees in its very first class — a significant number for a brand-new program in a field that is still establishing itself within traditional higher education.
A degree that teaches you to think, not just execute
Donnelly makes a point of emphasizing that the UX Design bachelor’s degree goes far beyond mastering specific tools. The program is aimed at people who have a bit of creativity and a visual eye, combined with an interest in computer science, and it opens students up to a wide range of career options.
According to the coordinator, the program teaches students to look at problems, find solutions, validate hypotheses, create prototypes, present work professionally, and receive constructive feedback. In short, it teaches you to think. And that means that even if the technology changes — and it will change, as it always does — the skills acquired remain relevant and scalable.
Donnelly went as far as describing the program as a forever degree. The logic behind that statement is that the fundamentals of design thinking, user-centered research, and creative problem-solving are timeless. The tools may change, the platforms may evolve, but the ability to understand people and design meaningful experiences for them remains valuable regardless of the technological landscape.
What to expect from the future of User Experience Design
The launch of this bachelor’s degree by the University of Minnesota is not just academic news — it is a clear signal of how the market is evolving. As artificial intelligence becomes more present in digital products, the role of UX professionals is likely to expand significantly. Designing experiences for interfaces that use generative AI, virtual assistants, and intelligent recommendation systems requires a set of design skills that goes far beyond what was needed five or ten years ago.
Understanding how to create transparent, ethical, and accessible interactions with these new technologies is a competency the market will value more and more, and well-structured university programs are essential in preparing professionals for those challenges.
It is also worth noting that the decision to create a UX degree at a Big Ten university could inspire other institutions to follow the same path. American higher education tends to move in waves: when a prestigious university validates a field of knowledge with a full undergraduate program, others tend to follow suit. If that happens, we will see a generation of user experience designers with stronger educational backgrounds entering the market over the next few years, which could raise the overall standard of the profession and, consequently, the quality of the digital products we all use every day.
For anyone who follows the tech and design sector, this is definitely a move worth keeping an eye on. 🚀
